60th anniversary of Architecture and Design Collection  

The Architecture and Design Collection (ADC) at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum (AD&A Museum) at the University of California, Santa Barbara is a world-renowned resource for the research and study of the built environment in Southern California from the late 19th century to today. Founded in 1963 by architectural historian, and first director of the AD&A Museum, David Gebhard, the Collection has grown over the last six decades to include nearly 290 archives of architects, landscape architects and industrial and graphic designers. Among these are notable creators such as Gregory Ain, Albert Frey, Edward Killingsworth, Barton Phelps, Lutah Maria Riggs, Rudolph Schindler and Robert Stacey Judd, to name just a few. Additionally, the ADC comprises a section of furniture items by designers such as Ray and Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen and Paul Tuttle. Today, the Collection continues to grow seeking to diversify its holdings with the work of underrepresented creators.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the ADC, the AD&A Museum has planned an exciting year-long program of exhibitions and events for 2023. The first round of exhibitions will open on Saturday, February 25 with a public reception that evening, and will remain on view until Sunday, May 7 of this year.

Among these exhibitions is Genius Loci: Domesticity and Identity in Southern California, which features a selection of ten single-family home projects from the ADC that convey the effervescent creativity permeating the region’s architectural production during the 20th century. Unifying the selected houses is the strong sense of place that their designs forge by responding to the specific conditions of their respective sites: desert areas, hillsides, beachfront properties, flat lands and even underground. Further linking the selected dwellings is the innovative, often experimental drive that underpins their conception. Thus, Genius Loci, meaning “spirit of the place” in Latin, refers, in the exhibition, to the identity that results from the novel dialogue between homes and sites. 

Also upcoming is Christopher Suarez: ESPÍRITUTECTUAL, the first museum exhibition for the artist, whose ceramic sculptures explore the relationship between communities and their built environment. These clay structures recreate the neighborhood buildings, laundromats, convenience stores, and mercados that define his experience growing up in Long Beach, California. Suarez relies on personal memory to rebuild seemingly unremarkable places and spaces that are, in fact, important cultural and personal sites within his community. In ESPÍRITUTECTUAL, Suarez explores the strip mall—a quintessentially Southern California architectural form—as the epicenter for the cultivation of community and culture. Despite their utilitarian design, these commercial centers are not only an integral part of the SoCal landscape, but more importantly for the artist, an extension of home.

Additionally, in the fall of 2023, the AD&A Museum will organize From Within: The Architecture of Helena Arahuete, the first retrospective of the LA-based Argentinian architect, who has carried organic architecture’s principles into the 21st century producing daring domestic and commercial structures inspired by nature’s efficiency and beauty. This exhibition will be accompanied by a scholarly monograph.

In conjunction with these celebratory exhibitions, the AD&A Museum will host a number of related events during the winter and spring of 2023 (all events are at 5:30pm PST and sponsored by Kitchell):

March 16: Firooz Zahedi and Lorie Porter
In-person conversation about their recent book Montecito Style, moderated by the architect Marc Appleton.

March 23: ESPÍRITUTECTUAL: Ana Serrano and Christopher Suarez in conversation with rafa esparza
Online artist panel exploring the unique urban architecture of Latino neighborhoods in Southern California.

April 13: UCSB Department of Art Visiting Artist Colloquium with Christopher Suarez
In-person artist talk.

April 20: Brenda Levin
In person lecture: “Preservation, Renovation and Adaptive Reuse in the Cultural and Civic Realms.”

May 4: Steven Price
Online lecture: “Modern Antiquity: John Elgin Woolf’s Cause and Effects.” 

For more information on in-person and online programs related to the 60th Anniversary of the ADC, please check the AD&A Museum website and follow us on social media (Instagram / Youtube / Facebook). #ADC60th